Water spirit mask · Nigeria, Niger Delta, Ijaw · ID: 3045798

Name: Water spirit mask
SKU: 3045798
Availability: Discontinued

not available anymore

Provenance

Wolfgang Nerlich, Munich, Germany

Size

H: 73 cm

H: 28.7 inch

Description

wood, white and red paint, rattan, base

This water spirit headdress was used in the masquerades of the “ekine” men’s society. It is claimed that these performances imitate dances of the water spirits themselves, and the masks sometimes exit or enter from the water.

All water spirit masks combine human features with the characteristics of aquatic animals. Usually these are fins, fishtails or crocodile snouts. In this case, however, the mask is originally carved with the bow and stern of a canoe.

The object Water spirit mask with the object ID 3045798 was last part of the auction 92nd Tribal Art Auction at June 29, 2019 on Zemanek-Münster Auction house and had the lot number 155.

You can find more Masks and other popular object types on our related topic pages. You may also be interested in our page on African art.